


22 hours

by P_Diffusa



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Ben kinda kidnaps him?, Ben really admires him, Boys In Love, Cheek Kisses, FUCK sumo slammer cards, Fluff, Gwen isn't really there, I said it, Kevin is angy, M/M, No Smut, Storms, but like, fluff gang, hand holding, might continue, no fighting, raining, sleepover, thats a hard maybe tho, to save him, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23957269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/P_Diffusa/pseuds/P_Diffusa
Summary: Takes place at the end of ep3s2 of Alien Force, in the middle of the fight on the Golden Gate Bridge.Ben doesn't give up on Kevin.
Relationships: Ben Tennyson & Gwen Tennyson, Kevin Levin/Ben Tennyson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 45





	1. Fighting, again

**"A-AUGHHHH!"**

Ben, Four Arms, feels himself being hit in the chest by Kevin. '...What?' He wears a puzzled look on his face. Kevin is no longer in any masquerading form, instead, he looks about the same as he did before. Small, but not as small as Ben- (well, not right now) and honestly pretty scrappy. He looks to be in pain, lying there on the ground. "We can't stay here." Says Ben, looking down towards the armored men on the ground. "They're going to shoot us both!" The hammering, gruff voice of Four Arms pleaded with the boy. 

"S-Screw you, Tennyson..." Kevin musters the few words enough to sting. A strange sense comes over the alien man, as he reaches with two of his plenty arms to pick Kevin up off the ground. "I'll keep you safe, don't worry about it." Ben tries not to make this as awkward as it really is. 

* * *

"Easy, easy..." Ben casually explains to himself, settling Kevin's limp body down to lean against a dumpster. There's a sudden electric beeping, a flash of red, and Ben is back again. He drops to his knees. Worry fills his head, thinking of everything terrible that might come with his rash decision to _kidnap_ Kevin. "Ugh, what am I doing?" He thinks aloud. Grandpa Max definitely isn't going to be happy about him wandering San Francisco alone, Gwen is going to be _super annoying_ about it all, and Kevin... When Kevin wakes up, there's no telling what he'll do. 'But I couldn't have left him there!' Ben makes fists with his hands, and moves his position to cross-legged.

"Ugh..." Kevin stirs, uneasily. The lock around his neck jingles. A state of panic is induced upon Ben. "H-Hey, Kev..." He starts meekly, hoping not to alarm the temperamental boy. "Gah! Tennyson!" Kevin's brown eyes go wide with shock, before returning to their angular shape. "What are- wh- **what am I doing here?!** " light raindrops start to cascade the metal sheet above them. He has one hand in a fist, the other on the ground, weaning himself off of the dumpster. "No! No, don't freak out, Kevin!" Ben's anxiety swells.   
The rain above starts to fall harder.

"Why did you bring me here, huh?!"  
"They were going to shoot us!"   
"So what, they wouldn't stand a chance against Kevin E. Levin!!"  
"You were _unconscious!_ "

Kevin sticks his tongue out at Ben, once again denying any of the flaws he may have.


	2. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin and Ben are stuck in the rain.
> 
> god, I am so bad at summaries smh

  
"What's so bad about _me_ , anyway?" Ben prods his conduit friend.  
  
"Well, for starters, you're kind of a brat. One day, you're down to have fun, then the next you go all hero- 'n stuff, making me look bad" Rain pounds on the metal sheet above them. "And you have... stupid eyes." Kevin says with arms crossed, clearly agitated by their interaction.

"What?" replies the smaller. Kevin has no reply.  
  
Time passes by quickly for the boys, but the rain seems to never stop. Ben shivers in the cold. "You okay?", Kevin moves closer to him. Ben only nods his head in a stubborn and undignified manner. "Whatever, man. No one said you had to stay here." Kevin points to the green watch on Ben's wrist. "Yeah, well... Same goes for you!" 

Ben thinks about it for a moment longer. _'Yeah, no one said I had to stay. Even if I wanted to protect Kevin before, he seems fine now. In uncharted territory... with no friends... in the middle of a rainstorm...'_ The more he thought about leaving, the more reasons came to him to stay. He looks over at Kevin, who has moved from his placement close to Ben to bent over the giant green dumpster. He's rummaging through a black plastic bag. 

"What are you doing?" Ben asks like he's just caught a thief. "Snacking." Replies the black-haired boy. "What?! Ew, dude! Stop that!"

Kevin looks over his shoulder, and (again) sticks his tongue out at Ben. "Mm!"

Ben stomps over to him and pulls on his arm, pulling him effortlessly off of the box he was standing on. Another thought enters Ben's, usually empty, head. "Do you, just like... Live like this?" Kevin makes an irritating face at him. "Yeah, I guess, so what." his words are quick, and he looks down at the ground when he's finished. Ben's grip remains on his upper arm.

The sensation of protectiveness bubbles inside of Benjamin again, but he has nothing to say. His fingers shift against Kevin's warm, dry skin- almost inviting him to get close.   
"You followed me all the way here." Ben tries to coax eye-contact from the other.


	3. Advancements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin and Ben hug it out... light angst//

_Kevin has never looked so distraught_ , thought Ben. _I guess what I said rang true._  
After Kevin refrained from dumpster diving, things became silent between the boys. All except for the pounding rain. (which was incredibly odd for San Fransisco)  
  
"I never thought...", Kevin started, "I think that..." his eyes searched for words outside of his grasp. Ben remained quiet but took into consideration how close they were sitting. They sat, shoulders touching, on the box from before. Even with this closeness, neither of them looked at another or acknowledged the confusing feelings that made them stay.   
  
"You aren't... Like them." the dark-haired alien finally spewed words with meaning.

"What do you mean?" _who_?

"My parents," Kevin's diverted his face from Ben's detection, but Ben could hear the tears rising up from his voice. "They couldn't love a freak like me."

_Love..._

Pangs of guilt hit Ben, although he was beholder as the only one who wasn't opposed to Kevin just for being a mutant-alien-thing. Benjamin was never the one to be praised for anything, and this, even if it isn't very traditional, made him feel tall and tiny at the same time. It didn't feel right. _I guess it's my turn to say something. What, in this universe, would I say, though?_ Almost instinctively, Ben lowers his hand from his knee to on top of Kevin's.

  
"I'm sorry, Kev."

_Kev..._

Kevin whips his head around, wide-eyed while his cheeks dripped. _I've never seen him so... Sensitive._ "H-Hey, it's alright," Ben struggles.

The taller leans in and grasps him by the arm with his free hand. He chokes out a few sobs, before burying his face into Ben's neck. Dumbfounded, Ben stays shocked still. A few seconds pass before he returns the awkward, apologetic hug from his rival. _Can I even call him my rival?_  
Rain continues to mercilessly stomp down from above.  
Ben strokes his hand with his thumb.

"...Ben?" Kevin speaks into his adversary's neck. No reply. "T-Thanks. For staying." The earlier feeling of guilt suddenly blossomed, evolving into something much more affectionate. Within a second, Kevin manages to brace himself, intertwining his fingers with Ben's, and pull back from their hug. 

The passionate sound of the rain is dulled out by the intensity between them. Their eyes are locked. "You... Will stay, won't you?" This was a promise. Ben has the option to promise to stay with Kevin, no matter how out of control or angry he may get, always to hold him back without holding him down- or to eventually leave. Be liked all the others. Be like his parents. But Ben could never do that.

"I will." He says, clearly lacking in confidence, but the promise was made.

Kevin was shocked. He looked as if he were to start crying again. To Ben, Kevin's tears would always hit harder than the insufferable pounding of the rain. 

Kevin pressed his lips into a line before gently holding Ben's chin and pushing his head to the side. He leans in and kisses Ben's cheek before another word is said. 

The song of rain comes back.

**Author's Note:**

> Please, let me know in the comments if I should continue this!  
> Edit: May 13th  
> Chapter 2 will be longer, or at least more satisfying..


End file.
